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Historical Designer Flow Chart

Design / Fashion

Is fashion a professionally incestuous industry? With designers getting shuffled around on a season-to-season basis, ‘traded’ much like free agent athletes, the ebb and flow of the fashion-house-creative-director relationship is getting harder and harder to follow. But is this an entirely new phenomenon, perpetuated by pressure and increasingly high financial stakes? Our historical designer flow chart is here to shed some light on the situation. Here are a few notable takeaways…


Posted January 30th, 2019 By Colby Mugrabi

What does it mean to be a ‘star designer’ today? Certainly if the determining factor is based on sheer talent, then star designers have existed since the days of Charles Frederick Worth, who founded the world’s first true couture house, ‘The House of Worth’ in 1858. Sadly, or perhaps not, the link between ‘star’ and ‘designer’ in 2019 lies in a cocktail of factors, based not solely on talent and ability to modernize house codes, but on celebrity, accessibility, and most importantly, commerciality. This industry trifecta determines the success and staying power of a creative director today, shedding light on perhaps the most substantial difference that contemporary designers face to those that existed a century, or ever decades ago – a formidable distinction that has unequivocally drained the beauty and artistry out of a majority of historical fashion brands.

Furthermore, today’s industry has made it progressively more difficult – and expensive – for a designer to start his or her own fashion house. Omitting everything that comes after a designer’s first show – production, sales, marketing, PR, etc. – the investment alone needed to set up an atelier and produce enough samples to show even one collection has made it nearly impossible for the new guard to launch a namesake brand; making this ‘free agent’ phenomenon increasingly auspicious in the eyes of a young designer yearning to one day be at the helm of an already established house; i.e. the Chanel’s and Dior’s of the world.

As history shows, the rapid succession of creative directors at fashion houses began around the late 1980s and early 90s, at which time ‘house founders’ bid adieu to their namesake labels, and fashion conglomerates such as LVMH and Kering began heavily investing in undervalued brands, growing them into modern day fashion behemoths. With this abrupt industry shift, creative directors began to move houses almost seasonally, showing no true loyalty to a brand they didn’t help create, serving merely as a ripple in time of a house’s history. Sure, there are certainly exceptions to this phenomenon, many could rightfully argue that Phoebe Philo created the Céline of the 21st century, but just seasons after her departure, the brand is now under the helm of French designer Hedi Slimane, with a new logo, image, aesthetic, and an entirely new customer.

Who’s to say that these trends won't eventually revert, or perhaps become even more exasperated; either way, the Minnie Muse designer flow chart is here to help quantify the never-ending changes throughout the history of fashion.

Histroical designer flow chart  small for web
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References
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Alber Elbaz

Lanvin 2002-2015

Y2s7e5my

Alexander Wang

Balenciaga 2012-2015

Owppc4jt

Alexander McQueen

Givenchy 1996-2001

Ygfvm8us

Antonio del Castillo

Lanvin 1950-1963

Xz7vw zd

Anthony Vaccarello

Yves Saint Laurent 2016-Present

E1wnoh9c

Alessandro Michele

Gucci 2015-Present

Oxxlyk 1

Bouchra Jarrar

Lanvin 2016-2017

U ylx j2

Bruno Sialelli

Lanvin 2018-2019

Screen shot 2019 01 30 at 10.55.08 am

Céline Vipiana

Céline 1945-1997

Wjseimwi

Christian Dior

Christian Dior 1945-1957

Paztotb0

Christopher Lemaire

Hermès 2011-2014

Q1wbjgey

Claire Waight Keller

Chloé 2011-2017, Givenchy 2018-Present

Yt4xleuv

Claude Montana

Lanvin 1990-1992

 q4uxzt4

Cristobal Balenciaga

Balenciaga 1917-1968

Pdyx7hoi

Demna Gvsalia

2015-Present

Waqllliy

Dominique Marlotti

Lanvin 1992-2001

Screen shot 2019 01 30 at 10.48.47 am

Frida Gianni

Gucci 2006-2014

Nsxgdosh

Gaby Aghion

Chloé 1952-1966

Dv6nxfa8

Gianfranco Ferré

Dior 1989-1996

Screen shot 2019 01 30 at 9.49.13 am

Guccio Gucci

Gucci 1921-1953

Hpeevwla

Hannah McGibbin

Chloé 2008-2011

1jpgeqq0

Hedi Slimane

Yves Saint Laurent 2012-2016, Céline 2018-Present

0wr4rnxx

Hubert de Givenchy

Givenchy 1552-1995

Xitrsumn

Jean-Paul Gaultier

Hermès 2003-2010

Lbeffgzg

Jeanne Lanvin

Lanvin 1889-1946

8pmbrsnb

John Galliano

Givenchy 1995-1996, Dior 1996-2011

Wycts bh

Josephus Thimister

Balenciaga 1992-1997

Dhbntquh

Jules-François Crahay

Lanvin 1964-1981

Screen shot 2019 01 30 at 10.44.04 am

Julien Macdonald

Givenchy 2001-2004

Oepsxqwz

Karl Lagerfeld

Chloé 1966-1997

64axviyw

Marc Bohan

Dior 1961-1989

Fmbj5 ga

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton 1854-1892

Uwwxyfy9

Marc Jacobs

Louis Vuitton 1997-2014

Remvwsd

Marie-Blanche de Polignac

Lanvin 1946-1950

X3iolnuo

Maria Grazia Chiuri

Dior 2016-Present

C

Martin Margiela

Hermès 1997-2003

Qc2m goq

Maryll Lanvin

Lanvin 1981-1989

H f4vct

Michel Goma

Balenciaga 1987-1992

Iwd0qg9k

Michael Kors

Céline 1997-2004

Brv7a8eu

Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski

Hermès 2014-Present

Eat0m996

Natacha Ramsay-Levi

Chloé 2017-Present

Sxe sue

Nicolas Ghesquière

Balenciaga 1997-2012, Louis Vuitton 2014-Present

Iuoscdqh

Oliver Lapidus

Lanvin 2017-2018

Ziysgp8x

Phoebe Philo

Chloé 2006-2008, Céline, 2008-2017

Fhtgg5ou

Raf Simons

Dior 2012-2015

Screen shot 2019 01 30 at 10.03.08 am

Ricardo Tisci

Givenchy 2005-2017

3knrgyor

Stefano Pilati

Yves Saint Laurent 2004-2012

I4bmuuvr

Stella McCartney

Chloé 1997-2001

Xtz8ni6b

Thierry Hermès

Hermès 1837-1878

4j brdh1

Tom Ford

Gucci 1994-2004, Yves Saint Laurent 2001-2004

B0glrlp

Yves Saint Laurent

Christian Dior 1958-1960, Yves Saint Laurent 1961-1992

Hwberhfq
References
Y2s7e5my

Alber Elbaz

Lanvin 2002-2015

1 of 51

Owppc4jt

Alexander Wang

Balenciaga 2012-2015

2 of 51

Ygfvm8us

Alexander McQueen

Givenchy 1996-2001

3 of 51

Xz7vw zd

Antonio del Castillo

Lanvin 1950-1963

4 of 51

E1wnoh9c

Anthony Vaccarello

Yves Saint Laurent 2016-Present

5 of 51

Oxxlyk 1

Alessandro Michele

Gucci 2015-Present

6 of 51

U ylx j2

Bouchra Jarrar

Lanvin 2016-2017

7 of 51

Screen shot 2019 01 30 at 10.55.08 am

Bruno Sialelli

Lanvin 2018-2019

8 of 51

Wjseimwi

Céline Vipiana

Céline 1945-1997

9 of 51

Paztotb0

Christian Dior

Christian Dior 1945-1957

10 of 51

Q1wbjgey

Christopher Lemaire

Hermès 2011-2014

11 of 51

Yt4xleuv

Claire Waight Keller

Chloé 2011-2017, Givenchy 2018-Present

12 of 51

 q4uxzt4

Claude Montana

Lanvin 1990-1992

13 of 51

Pdyx7hoi

Cristobal Balenciaga

Balenciaga 1917-1968

14 of 51

Waqllliy

Demna Gvsalia

2015-Present

15 of 51

Screen shot 2019 01 30 at 10.48.47 am

Dominique Marlotti

Lanvin 1992-2001

16 of 51

Nsxgdosh

Frida Gianni

Gucci 2006-2014

17 of 51

Dv6nxfa8

Gaby Aghion

Chloé 1952-1966

18 of 51

Screen shot 2019 01 30 at 9.49.13 am

Gianfranco Ferré

Dior 1989-1996

19 of 51

Hpeevwla

Guccio Gucci

Gucci 1921-1953

20 of 51

1jpgeqq0

Hannah McGibbin

Chloé 2008-2011

21 of 51

0wr4rnxx

Hedi Slimane

Yves Saint Laurent 2012-2016, Céline 2018-Present

22 of 51

Xitrsumn

Hubert de Givenchy

Givenchy 1552-1995

23 of 51

Lbeffgzg

Jean-Paul Gaultier

Hermès 2003-2010

24 of 51

8pmbrsnb

Jeanne Lanvin

Lanvin 1889-1946

25 of 51

Wycts bh

John Galliano

Givenchy 1995-1996, Dior 1996-2011

26 of 51

Dhbntquh

Josephus Thimister

Balenciaga 1992-1997

27 of 51

Screen shot 2019 01 30 at 10.44.04 am

Jules-François Crahay

Lanvin 1964-1981

28 of 51

Oepsxqwz

Julien Macdonald

Givenchy 2001-2004

29 of 51

64axviyw

Karl Lagerfeld

Chloé 1966-1997

30 of 51

Fmbj5 ga

Marc Bohan

Dior 1961-1989

31 of 51

Uwwxyfy9

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton 1854-1892

32 of 51

Remvwsd

Marc Jacobs

Louis Vuitton 1997-2014

33 of 51

X3iolnuo

Marie-Blanche de Polignac

Lanvin 1946-1950

34 of 51

C

Maria Grazia Chiuri

Dior 2016-Present

35 of 51

Qc2m goq

Martin Margiela

Hermès 1997-2003

36 of 51

H f4vct

Maryll Lanvin

Lanvin 1981-1989

37 of 51

Iwd0qg9k

Michel Goma

Balenciaga 1987-1992

38 of 51

Brv7a8eu

Michael Kors

Céline 1997-2004

39 of 51

Eat0m996

Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski

Hermès 2014-Present

40 of 51

Sxe sue

Natacha Ramsay-Levi

Chloé 2017-Present

41 of 51

Iuoscdqh

Nicolas Ghesquière

Balenciaga 1997-2012, Louis Vuitton 2014-Present

42 of 51

Ziysgp8x

Oliver Lapidus

Lanvin 2017-2018

43 of 51

Fhtgg5ou

Phoebe Philo

Chloé 2006-2008, Céline, 2008-2017

44 of 51

Screen shot 2019 01 30 at 10.03.08 am

Raf Simons

Dior 2012-2015

45 of 51

3knrgyor

Ricardo Tisci

Givenchy 2005-2017

46 of 51

I4bmuuvr

Stefano Pilati

Yves Saint Laurent 2004-2012

47 of 51

Xtz8ni6b

Stella McCartney

Chloé 1997-2001

48 of 51

4j brdh1

Thierry Hermès

Hermès 1837-1878

49 of 51

B0glrlp

Tom Ford

Gucci 1994-2004, Yves Saint Laurent 2001-2004

50 of 51

Hwberhfq

Yves Saint Laurent

Christian Dior 1958-1960, Yves Saint Laurent 1961-1992

51 of 51


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